The family of Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old college football player whose body was found on Mississippi's Horn Island in July, is renewing calls for a continued investigation after an independent autopsy concluded that his cause and manner of death should remain "undetermined" and identified unexplained blunt-force injuries to the back of his head and body. Speaking at a news conference alongside civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, family representatives challenged conclusions reached during the investigation and criticized a grand jury's decision not to bring charges. Crump said, "We'll never stop until we get to the truth." Christine Wonsley, Wells’ mother, said she learned of the release of the grand jury documents through a text from Angel Myers McIlrath, district attorney for Mississippi's 19th Circuit Court District, shortly before seeing a video from McIlrath on Facebook.
I received a text message from the DA informing Elmore and I that the grand jury report had been filed earlier in the day. Shortly after this text message, she released information via Facebook," Wonsley said through tears, adding, "To me, that action showed a lack of empathy and a need to get this case done and over with. "Elmore and I have read through the report page by page more than once.
What we have learned is that we still have no answers, and the report reinforced the fact that Nolan was not given a thorough, transparent, and honest investigation," Wonsley said. "There is no explanation as to how the bruising on his body and the blunt force trauma to the back of his head occurred. Please remember that both medical examiners, as well as his death certificate, states that the cause and his death is undetermined.
"So my question is: How can a jury come to the conclusion of drowning, despite knowing that there was trauma to his body, and despite hearing many inconsistencies, Elmore and I do not believe that Nolan simply and accidentally drowned, and nobody saw anything, and no one knows anything," Wonsley continued through sobs, "Last night was a reminder that our son's life does not matter to those who hold positions that are supposed to serve and protect the public." The case has drawn national attention because of lingering questions surrounding how Wells died during a Fourth of July weekend outing with friends on Horn Island. While authorities presented evidence to a Jackson County grand jury, the panel ultimately declined to indict anyone in connection with the death, according to the county's released report. Questions about race surfaced early in the case, with attorneys for Wells' family arguing that authorities moved too quickly to characterize the death as an accidental drowning and later accusing investigators of failing to fully pursue unanswered questions surrounding the death of the 18-year-old Black college athlete who traveled to the island with his White friends.
At the news conference, Crump said the family was seeking the same commitment to finding the truth that has been afforded in other high-profile cases involving young people, while also noting that he could not say whether race directly contributed to Wells' death. The family's legal team argues significant questions remain unanswered about injuries identified during both the state and independent autopsies. They contend those findings warrant continued scrutiny rather than closing the case.
During the news conference, Crump said authorities were effectively asking the public to accept three words: "We'll never know." "But I say there are three different words which should come to the front of your mind when you think of Nolan Xavier Wells, and those three words are blunt force trauma," he said. A final report prepared by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. found that Wells "sustained recent unexplained blunt-force injuries to the back of the head and additional areas of his back." The report concluded that both the cause and manner of death should be classified as "undetermined." According to Mitchell, an area previously described as a "red discoloration" was later confirmed to be blood, consistent with bruising to the back of Wells' head.
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